1.Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination
2.Exercise of the said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship
Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Article 37.º

Disgraceful use of the Cortes family

Mari Luz’s family are considering legal measures because of the posters showing their daughter and Madeleine, without permission.The cost of the poster campaign is being met with 4,000 € from each family.

Mari Luz Cortés’s parents have made clear their rejection of the possibility that their daughter should appear on the posters together with the British girl Madeleine McCann, because of their understanding that the investigations of both disappearances are following different lines.

In a press conference following their meeting with the president of the Andalucia Junta, Manuel Chaves, the girl’s father, Juan José Cortés, has explained that he has heard that Madeleine’s family are claiming to produce posters with the photos of both girls together, as well as a photo of the British girl with that of Yéremi Vargas, from Canarias.

Cortés has gone further to ensure that he will consult with lawyers "for the image of our daughter having been taken" for this campaign which, as he has explained, the Portuguese press specifies will go ahead by means of the contribution of 4.000 euros on the part of each family.

Mari Luz’s father has indicated that the family is not against collaboration with the search for Madeleine, “and even help with the elaboration of a poster with photos of all missing children”, but has understood that its is a case of “two different countries, and different lines of investigation”.

Mari Luz Cortés’s family today requested the immediate halting of the distribution of posters in Portugal that show their daughter next to Madeleine McCann, they will also study possible legal measures with regard to this.

In statements made to journalists after a meeting with Manuel Chaves, Mari’s father, Juan José Cortés, confirmed that the family “had not given their permission” because “it is not the appropriate strategy to mix both cases nor that Mari Luz should have to be related to the case of Madeleine”.

“They are two totally different cases with two lines of inquiry that are completely different” according to Juan José Cortés, who announced his intention of making a complaint before the British Embassy “so that a reprimand is made to the person responsible for this”.

The family is planning to travel to Romania, Portugal, France and Morocco to distribute posters of Mari Luz.

Kate and Gerry McCann have been threatened with legal action after using the photograph of a missing Spanish girl in their poster campaign.

The father of five-year old Mari Luz Cortes, who disappeared in January, said he had not given the couple permission to use his daughter's picture in 17,400 A3-size prints distributed across Spain and Portugal yesterday.

The posters show Madeleine McCann, four, Mari and Jeremy Vargas, seven, who vanished near his home in Gran Canaria in March last year.

Builder Juan Jose Cortes, 34, from Huelva, said: "Why didn't they ask us? The three cases are not connected. We are with our lawyers."

McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We did have permission from the family."

McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We obviously regret if there is any confusion over these posters, however we did have the permission of the family to produce them following a conversation between them and a female friend of Kate's who speaks Spanish.

"Her father also said anything that can be done should be done. "The lady who spoke to him also tried to get hold of him after that to show him the artwork on the posters but he was in Madrid campaigning for his daughter.

"These posters have been produced entirely with the aim of trying to help find Madeleine, Mari Luz and Yeremi Vargas.

"We believed we had permission and the friend who spoke to him is trying to phone him to remind him of the conversation she had with him."

McCanns spokesman regrets the reaction of Juan Cortés and says that the couple only wanted to help

"Is shameful that Mari Luz's father presents complaints"

It is "surprising and shameful that Mari Luz's father presents complaints about us in a press release". This was the reaction of Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns when he was informed by the 24 Horas that the father of Juan Cortés does not authorise the distribution of the 18 thousand posters with the images of Maddie and the Spanish girl in Spain and Portugal.

"We regret the confusion. We only wanted to help Mari Luz's family and honestly we thought we had permission from the girl's father to this joint campaign", said Clarence Mitchell. The problem is that the 18 thousand posters were already sent by post, last Thursday to Spain. "Our only hope is that the owners of schools, restaurants and other public places are aware of the reaction of Mr. Juan Cortés and do not display the posters", said the spokesman of Kate and Gerry McCann.

"As I explained to you newspaper last Saturday, we did believe to have the permission of the Cortés family. Few days after the disappearance of Mari Luz, a Kate's friend that speaks Spanish contacted the father of the Spanish girl and told him about the intention of the McCanns in printing a poster of both children.

At that time Mari Luz's father said he would appreciate everything that the McCanns could do". Clarence Mitchell will now talk with Kate and Gerry about the situation and also with the volunteers that cooperated in the poster campaign. "How can someone be furious with another person for wanting to help to find the daughter?", said and outraged Mitchell.

Helping To Find Madeleine (HTFM) is pleased to announce that it has undertaken a further mailing project to raise awareness of the disappearnace of Madeleine McCann, Yeremi Vargas and Mari Luiz Cortez throughout Spain and the Islands of Ceuta and Mellilla.

Gathering of addresses has been carried out by members of HTFM who volunteered their own time to work on this project, with printing and mailing costs kept to an absolute minimum due to the ongoing support of Paceprint, Crossflight and Swiss Post.

HTFM and the Madeleine McCann Campaign thanks these businesses, the people of Spain and Ceuta and Mellilla as well as everyone involved in this project for their ongoing support and commitment in helping to find these missing children.

You Might Also Like

2 comments:

Mari Luz family has every right to complain about the poster. They are unrelated cases and should be treated as such. The poster gives the impression that there is a connection between the two. Such confusion can only harm the search for Mari.Also it seems that the phone number people are asked to ring in connection with Mari does not exist! One more false impression manufactured by Company McCann.Tina